Here I Am, No Matter What
by Amoniyoni
Summary: Draco, who has a Veela trait in his blood, felt his life turned upside down when finally he found his mate in the most unattainable witch alive, Hermione Granger. While she felt despair in her heart when her instinct told her that she was bound to him.
1. She's Here Finally

AN : Hello, it's nice to be back after so long. This is my second story so far and basically it's a Dramione with a HEA guarenteed because I don't like a sad story with heavy angst in it. This story is still a WIP with a halfway plot inside my head. Definitely AU so do not expect me to stick to the original story line by JK, this is after all a fanfic, a wild imagination that running rampant through my head for this past few weeks. I hope that I would be able to keep the characters in line and not too OOC, fair warning beforehand, this story is not in the favour of Ron and Ginny so if you love those character so much, this is not the story for you.

I hope you would love the story and I hope that I'd be able to serve you a good story line and plot. And now to the story... Happy reading and I will keep my fingers cross, hoping that you'll like it... ;-)

Oh, and before I forget:

Disclaimer : I do not own any character and any part of the story that you recognise in this story and I do not gain any financial advantage from this story.

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><p>Chapter 1 – She's here finally<p>

Life can be cruel when it wants to be. That's what crossed my mind when everything's finally settled in my brain. You see... my life hasn't been easy, but at least it's better than most people in England. My family - consist of my father, my mother and me – loves each other, in our own different way. Although from the outside people saw us as cold, vicious, and conceited we definitely put our family wellbeing on top priority. It's our way since many generations before us, because we inherit Veela lineage in our blood... The blood that makes us bonded to each other without exception.

So... Where's the problem? You asked. When was life rear its ugly head to me? That... would be a little longer to explain.

Before I told you about my problem, I think I must explain about Veela and our custom a bit further. A man with Veela trait only mate with one woman for as long as he lives, there'll be no other for him. He, with his mate, are capable of produce many children, but there'll only be one son as a first born. Any other child after the firstborn, if they were lucky enough, will always be a girl.

A son, the heir, must find his mate or he'll die slowly but surely. The record showed that the longest a male Veela can live without finding his mate is until he was 25 years old. It varies from one individual to the other. When a male Veela found his mate, he will find himself drawn to her, feel a compulsion to protect her at all cost, and feel the first stir of lust for her. But, he only can recognised his mate if the girl in question already came to adulthood and that, by the Veela standard, means the girl already had her first menstruation cycle. So, if he'd already met his mate before she came to adulthood the first binding will not happen at the time.

Historically, when the mate also has Veela blood in her there'll be no struggle, she will comply immediately to him, although a female Veela doesn't need to find a mate herself. But when the mate is purely human there were some cases in which the story didn't reach a happy ending. Some of the female mate refused to be bound to the Veela, condemned him to death sentence. Some other stories said that, a refused Veela turn into madness, killed the girl, and ended his life.

That was where my problem laid. My father said that my inner Veela will choose the most compatible girl to be my mate, take into consideration every aspects of me. Well, I have found my mate. Surely, I've found her. It couldn't be denied. But to put it literally, I've found her in the most unattainable girl alive. My inner self most assuredly jeopardise my chance in happiness...

It's on the train ride to Hogwarts for our 6th year education when I found her. Not in the sense of first meeting her, because we already knew each other since our first year. But alas, we knew each other not in a friendly term.

At the time, I walked along the corridor of the train, bored to death by my usual company. Crabbe and Goyle, being their usual selves occupied their time with either sleeping or stuffing their mouths with foods. The Parkinson girl, she is definitely another case of revolting air-headed bimbo. Her simpering upon me finally became unbearable and made me end up in this excursion.

That's when I heard raised voices from one of the compartment, the door was slightly ajar and the occupants weren't care enough to make sure their arguments was kept between them. I heard her voice first, bickering with the redhead git. My ears perked up, I didn't care about their bickering but I enjoyed every opportunity I've got to goad those Gryffindors to their limits. I believed this is one of my chances to taunt her once again. If there's a hex or two in the process, it wouldn't matter as long as I got a chance to see her riled up expression.

I brought myself close to the slightly ajar door, leaned in to hear the conversation better. Their bickering continued without pause, too deeply strangled in their hostility towards each other to realize there was a third party to watch their spat of verbal assault.

"You're a bloody git! How could you accuse me of doing a plastic surgery to myself?" She said. I wondered what the hell plastic surgery is and I bet with the sound that came out of the git's mouth, he didn't know either. "You know what; you suppose to believe me when I said that I'm not doing any of it. You're supposed to be my friend!" She exclaimed, "Put in that thick head of yours: I grew up over the summer and got the best improvement by it!"

"I can't believe that you inclined to believe the rumour that was started by that floozy brained Brown!" She said in an indignant voice, "You, of all people, should've known that I'd rather be appreciated for my brain instead for my looks."

"I only meant it in a good way..." The git said.

"Meant it in a good way?" She shrieked, "What is good in suggesting that your best friend had finally came to her senses and put her brain into some good use by applying beauty charms to her body? Just you know Ronald Billius Weasley, I have no need in a beauty charm as you put it. And there's definitely no enchantment anywhere in my body." With the last punctuation on her speech, she cast a very powerful jinx to the git and tried to storm out of their compartment.

I must put an underline at the word 'tried', because in her haste and fury she seemed to lost her balance and stumble out of her compartment, bumped her head to the door frame, lost her consciousness, and ended up literally in my arms.

On the tip of my tongue I almost yell 'What the hell...' but when I caught a whiff of her scent, a lingering combination of white nettle, seaweed, and aloe vera plus a subtle scent of an ancient tome's parchment. I froze...

Suddenly, I felt an overwhelming urge to protect this girl in my arms from any harm, cherish her, love her, and devote myself to her. I felt a jolt of possessiveness within my heart, a stir that never happened before and it made me correct my posture. I put a protective arms around her, drew her closer to my body, and for the first time I realized what's these feeling means. This is it... I found her, my mate, my other half. She's here, finally...

I looked down to her face and marvelled with what I saw. She seemed so different; her features seemed to be thoroughly enhanced over the summer. Her skin felt so soft and flawless, her body supple and firm, and her face... She was always pretty before, but now... with her brown hair tamed into soft ringlets, small delectable lips, pointy nose, and natural curve of her eyebrows... She became beautiful, exquisite. She has matured in a very short time, her body at least. For I knew that she was always been wise beyond her years spiritually.

As my eyes roamed over her face I jolted into reality when the scar head came barrelling out of the compartment and demanded that I unhanded her at once. "Not in a million years Potter!" I snapped at him, not realizing that he was also in the compartment all this time, "She was just running out of your compartment to avoid the Weasel. It wouldn't be wise to put her near that git. I won't hand her over."

"What's in it for you, ferret? You always deem her unworthy of your lot and now suddenly you'd be her knight in the shining armour?" He said sarcastically but then seemed trying to restrain his self, "Look, let's get over this for now. She needs to be tended to, I'm afraid she had a concussion."

His words made me snapped out of my defensive stance. I looked down again to her face and gasp, how could I not notice it before. I'm so stupid! I berated myself. There it was a swelling bump on her forehead. She'd definitely bumped her head with force. My body jerked into action, I lifted the rest of her body from the floor into my arms, and I started to stride with a full force.

"Where do you think you're going?" The scar head said, with one of his hand hold my arm.

"I'm taking her to the infirmary compartment, where else?" I said, lost my patience with the boy. "If you don't move your hand quickly, I'll hex you Potter!" When he gaped at me and slackened his grip on my arm, I restarted my stride and with a full speed I carried my mate to the mediwitch. I could feel Potter was following me from a distance, but I really don't care right at that moment. My first priority was to get medical treatment for the girl in my arms as soon as possible.

When I arrived to the infirmary compartment, the scar head hurriedly passed me to slide the door open. For the first time, I felt gratitude for him. I strode in hastily, startling Madam Pomfrey from idleness to alertness in mere seconds.

"What happened?" She asked, gesturing for me to place my beloved on the bed.

"She bumped her head when she tried to get out of her compartment in a hurry." I replied.

Madam Pomfrey bended over to examine her head and exclaimed in surprise, "Miss Granger!" She spun her head so quickly to see me, a flitting of suspicion cross her eyes. But then she saw the scar head in the room and didn't comment further, instead pouring her skill diligently to find what's wrong with Hermione.

Yes, it is Hermione to me now... It's strange to say it with my mouth but at the same time it feels so right. She's my mate after all, so I thought that I had a privilege to call her that or something else more private for only the two of us.

There, I said it out loud... The most untouchable girl there is in the face of the earth is my mate... My Hermione. As if I'm a junky to the impossible, my Veela side attached me to her in the most irreversible way...

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><p>AN: I'd really like to hear your comment on the story and since this story is un-BETA-ed I hope that I'll find somebody to help me with it... Thanks so much for reading! See you...<p> 


	2. Here I Am, No Matter What

**AN : **Here I am, back for the 2nd chapter of the story. Before we begin I'd like to greet all the readers and the reviewers from the previous chapter, thank you for reading and of course thank you for reviewing, your supports have made my days brighter :-)

So, this is the 2nd chapter, I hope you'll enjoy it!

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><p>Chapter 2 – Here I Am, No Matter What...<p>

I sat by her bedside anxiously; I needed to know that she'll be okay. I watched Madam Pomfrey checked her up, muttering several detection charms over her head and checking her vital sign. After she made a diagnostic conclusion, she summoned a vial of potion that I recognize as pain reliever potion. She resuscitated Hermione with a flick of her wand and I heard a small moaning voice from her mouth.

Hermione tried to rise from the bed but Madam Pomfrey adamant that she laid still for some moment. She shoved the pain reliever potion to her hand and urged her to drink the potion. "For your headache honey." Madam Pomfrey said, "You've got a very nasty bruise on your head there. Next time, don't go around too hastily and look where you're going."

"Mr. Potter, I want you to assure that Miss Granger doesn't have any concussion. Watch her carefully for the rest of this trip. If she showed signs of nausea or vomiting or even worse she lost her consciousness again, get me right away." Madam Pomfrey said, "Unfortunately I must leave her and make my rounds to see that there's no other accident happened around here."

"Well, actually Madam Pomfrey..." Harry stuttered, trying to inform her about Ron, "Ron was unconscious in our compartment the last time I saw him." He tried to look contrite.

"What the hell is going on exactly Potter?" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed, "First, Mr. Malfoy rushed in with an unconscious Miss Granger in his arms and now there's another unconscious student somewhere on this train? Were you having a fight?" She looked suspiciously to Potter and me.

"Well, I believe that it was my fault Madam Pomfrey." Hermione replied weakly, "I jinxed him with a rather powerful spell. You see... We were argued before I decided to jinx him and then stormed out of the compartment." She dropped her head down in embarrassment.

She shook her head in disbelief and said, "You should have known better to restrain your temper Miss Granger."

'_I better be quick to find young Mr. Weasley'_ Madam Pomfrey muttered under her breath while walking rapidly out of the compartment.

As soon as Madam Pomfrey got out of the compartment Potter came rushing to her side and started to speak with her. "Mione, are you all right? I'm so sorry for Ron's words. He could be such a dimwit sometime." He said, "Do your head still hurt? Do you need anything?"

I couldn't stand his rambling and the lack of space between them. I felt jealousy raging through me, she's my mate, and nobody else had the right to be that close to her except me. With great effort I restrain myself in my seat, though to anyone who's looking they could see my face contorted as if I was in a great pain. I must be patient, she doesn't know about me yet, about my claim to her.

That's when the reality sinks in, she wouldn't want me. Not in a million years... I was horrible to her and she hates me with the deepest passion. I blanched at the thought, I felt suffocated. With my frantic mind I was trying to find equilibrium in this mess, but I couldn't find it. I must get out of this place.

When I stood up from my chair, I accidently lift my eyes and met with the deep brown orb of her eyes. During my internal rambling in which I finally freaked out, I didn't realize that the attentions of the other occupants of the room were already shifted to me. Her eyes... Her deep soulful eyes that wise beyond her years were watching me... I was captivated.

Did I already mention that there are several steps to acknowledge a mating connection? Firstly, as I already went through, the male will recognize his mate by the overwhelming compulsion to be by her side. But it's rather different for the female part. Fully human and partly Veela female alike will know that a male Veela had put his claim on her when she firstly looked straight into his eyes after the first trigger was unleashed. It wasn't like knowing in the full sense; more like her instinct knew it. Secondly... Well it would be too long to explain so let's talk about it at another time.

Now, back to the moment when I... met her unflinching eyes. There in her eyes, I saw the recognition and for a brief moment I thought that I saw acceptance in her eyes. I might've been delusional because the next moment I saw her forehead creased in confusion, her eyes blinked rapidly as if to clear some fog from her eyes, and finally rejection flashed clearly in her eyes. But there's something that I didn't expect to happen, she suddenly gasped in pain. Her hand clutched her chest and she rolled over with her body trembling violently. Never in my lifetime had I felt such dismay and panic running havoc through my vein.

I didn't have any clue for what was happening with her and with the scar head was also panicking, we were of no help to her. As I tried to retain some control over myself, the scar head seemed to think the same. I was finally able to tell him to fetch Madam Pomfrey and without a second thought he dashed away to find her. In my desperate attempt to prevent her to do more damage to her body I enervated her. She became limp instantly and I rearranged her position in bed for her comfort.

Madam Pomfrey rushed into the compartment and saw me in my agitated state with Hermione's hand clasped tightly within mine. She seemed to realize something but didn't give a comment. She only asked me what happened and I told her the brief version up until I enervated Hermione.

She summoned some potions for Hermione and woke her up. When Hermione whimpered in pain she gave her the first potion. "Take this dear, it will lessen your ache. Now, slow and steady... That's right until its finish." She said, tending to her tenderly. After awhile the pain seemed to lessen, although she looked so exhausted, Madam Pomfrey gave her the second potion. "This is to make you rest for awhile child." She said and with that potion Hermione was out of consciousness again.

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><p>I felt so wretched, I tried to remember every bit of information on Veela bonding that my family had taught me. I tried to understand what happened to Hermione, I was sure that her illness was resulted from her bond to me. Surely a simple bump on her head couldn't cause a pain so great to her, although I must confess that she bumped her head quite hard. I was at a loss, there's no information I could extract from my mind that would be beneficial to her condition right now.<p>

I sat stiffly on her bedside with Potter on her other side. Madam Pomfrey was out of the compartment, running some errand. I didn't think that there'll be another task more important than to attend my mate, '_where did she go?_' I wondered.

I heard the door opened, but too engrossed in my attention to Hermione to spare a glance that way. I startled when I heard the headmaster voice in the room, turning my head to the direction of his voice. He spared a glance in our direction, whispered something to Madam Pomfrey who was coming back with him, then called Potter to his side. He reluctantly left Hermione side to approach the headmaster, he talked for a while with the headmaster and at one point he seemed to argue about something with him. He casted a look my way and after some calculation in his head, he nodded to the headmaster and started to walk out of the door, followed closely behind by Madam Pomfrey.

Now it's my turn to be scrutinized by the headmaster, he approached me slowly and after some time spoke to me, "Mr. Malfoy, I believe that we need to have a conversation." He put a hand on my shoulder. It made me turned around in my seat to face him; he leisurely flicked his wand and conjured an extra chair next to mine. He sat on the chair, looking straight at me he continued, "I hope that it is appropriate for me to say congratulations to you Mr. Malfoy?"

"What for Professor?" I said, slightly confused with the phrase he chose.

"Well, it is customary to congratulate a fellow wizard when he has found his soul mate." He said carefully, "But I'm not sure that at this moment you're in a blissful happy state to accept that congratulation."

My face contorted in pain, remembering the rejection that was flashing in her eyes. I wondered how the headmaster knew about my inheritance, a wizard family normally wasn't too forthcoming about this trait; it's a well kept secret inside a family. Even the Dark Lord doesn't know about the Veela trait that runs in the Malfoy line. It's for safety precaution my father said, we will be vulnerable if too many people knew about the trait.

But for now, I tried to focus on more important issue, her wellbeing... "I don't know what's wrong with her. She wasn't supposed to be this way..." I said, "I have never heard about this kind of result when a female mate rejected her mate."

"She rejected you?" The headmaster enquired.

"Yes... No... I don't know for sure. It's in her eyes..." I said, "For a moment there, I thought that I saw acceptance in her eyes. But in a split second I saw realization in her eyes of who I am and her eyes turned hard and cold." I sighed, pulling my left hand through my hair. "The next thing I realized was that she's in so much pain and I felt so helpless..." I looked at Hermione in desperation, "I don't want her to be hurt."

The headmaster seemed to think for a while and after some silent moment he addressed me with a more informal appellation. "Draco, I'm afraid I must be blunt with you. I know that this whole thing is a very recent development to you and you haven't had enough time to think this through. But, have you thought about the consequence of your claim to her?" He said slowly, as if trying to make me understand the circumstances. "She's after all a Muggleborn."

Then I realized what he must think of, he thought that my parents would disagree with my choice of mate. He didn't understand that, neither me or my father or my other ancestor before him, had a say in the selection of our mate. My father would understand and support me who ever my mate is. Well it was a bit ironic that after all this time that I wasted to degrade any muggleborn that passed my way; I ended up with a Muggleborn as a mate.

Well, my father always said that the Veela will choose the most compatible counterpart for us. It was never said that the Veela will guarantee you a pureblood mate, but it was said that the Veela will guarantee that your mate has a trait that you value the most. And Hermione definitely got every trait that I valued the most: intellectuality, determination, and loyalty. She's definitely the brightest witch of our age, she got determination in doing everything she does, and finally she was very loyal to her friends.

How my previous ancestor managed to keep the line pure I didn't understand, but maybe just maybe... Their most valued trait was the superiority of blood purity. I on the other hand never believed in such thing although I've spent lots of my time trying to believe it. How could I believe the crap when everyday at school I saw lots of half-blood and muggleborn bested the pureblood students? Look at Longbottom or Crabbe or Goyle. Even Parkinson struggled to master a simple spell as levitation charm.

Back to conversation at hand, "I believe that you've gravely mistaken if you thought that my parents will refuse her because she is a Muggleborn, Professor." I said, "My father totally understands that I have no say in the selection of my mate. She'll be accepted with open arms to our family."

"I don't expect your father to reject Miss Granger, Draco. Although I only have a very limited knowledge about Veela customs and rituals I have a privilege to know that much. It is after all a matter of life and death for you and I would never doubt that your father would do his best for you." He said, "What I meant is Voldemort, child."

I cringed when he said that name. "What about him Professor?" I asked.

"He won't be as lenient as your father I presumed?" He said, "And I believed that you have no intention to let go of your claim to Miss Granger?"

"She'll be in a great danger when he found out about your connection to her." He said. "And your family would be in a greater danger when he understood that you wouldn't let her go."

"But the Dark Lord doesn't know about my family trait, Sir." I said, "Even Aunt Bella doesn't know about it. Only the main member of the family should've known about the lineage. So there would be no reason for the Dark Lord to suspect anything." I looked at him, trying to make my argument more valid.

"Could you keep it a secret Draco?" The headmaster asked, "Even as we speak two other people had suspected something about your intention to Miss Granger."

When I just looked at him in silent he proceeded, "Mr. Potter and Madam Pomfrey suspected that there was something going on with you. And it doesn't help matter when you vigilantly kept a hawk eye on her since she's been brought here."

"When you started your school year it'll be much harder to escape scrutiny." He said, "And I'm a hundred percent sure that you won't be able to control your urge to protect her all the time."

"Somebody will take notice, and alas there were not many secrets that can be kept away from Voldemort." He said, "You would have agreed on that, wouldn't you Draco?"

I blanched at the thought. Yes, I'm pretty sure that whatever happened between Hermione and me, whatever rejection she sent my way, I'll still protect her with all my might. Here I am... No matter what. I won't be able to let her go and I'll put my best effort to win her heart until my very last breath. I looked up at the headmaster face and pleaded with my eyes. I needed her to be safe...

The headmaster seemed to understand my plea because the next thing I know he made a suggestion. "I suggest that you write a letter to your father. Explain to him what happened, about your claim to Miss Granger and your conversation with me." He said, "And then, you tell him that I proposed a meeting to have a '_deeper conversation_' about the situation. I dearly hope that he would accept my proposal."

"And don't forget to tell him about her condition. He might have known something about that." He said.

After a moment pause he said, "An advice for you Draco, show her who you really are. I believed she'd come to appreciate you and even maybe at the right time she'd learn to love you as well. A relationship, even the fated one, needs a lot of effort to succeed."

The headmaster rose from his chair and as a parting sign he patted my shoulder, "I believe it's time for me to go Draco." He said, "Send me some news when you received it."

I watched him walked out of the door, then a turned around to watch Hermione again. _'I hope that he's right my love. I vow that I'd do my best to show you who I really am... How good I can be for you... Please, at least give me one chance to proof myself... __o__ne chance to have my happiness with you.'_ I murmured my prayer to her ear, although I know she wouldn't hear me.

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><p>During my conversation with Professor Dumbeldore I felt her stirred and whimpered but never truly conscious. I tried to soothe her every time she moved, making small circles on the back of her hand. It seemed that every time I did that movement she calmed a little bit. So, I stayed a little longer by Hermione's side before I finally decided to start writing my letter to father and even then I didn't go far from her side. I let go of her hand, making her stirred from her slumber. She whimpered, searching for my hand. At least when she's not conscious she seemed to search for me for some comfort. '<em>I won't go far my love, I'll be right here beside you<em>.' I whispered to her.

I summoned a piece of parchment, a quill, and a bottle of ink and tried to write on the small bedside table while from time to time checked on her condition. Just when I finished my letter Madam Pomfrey entered the room with more potions in her hand. "Mr. Malfoy, I think it's time for you to get back to your compartment. The train will soon arrive at Hogsmeade and you need to change to your school robe." She said, "I'll take care of Miss Granger from here, I'll make sure she's settle comfortably in the infirmary tonight."

When I couldn't find any excuse to prolong my time with her I graciously packed my belonging and stood from my chair. Before I left I bend over Hermione and whispered in her ear, '_Get well soon... I'll be watching over you..._'. I stood up, while caressing her cheek. "Please take care of her Madam Pomfrey." I said, looking at her while walking out of the door. "Sure I will boy" I heard her answer me.

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><p>AN : There you are the 2nd chapter. I really tried to proof read this chapter by myself, so if there's still some miss spell or some unintelligible sentences, I appologize deeply for the mistakes... Do not hesitate to point it out to me though... I hope it'll make me more cautious in my writing.<p>

Thanks for reading... See you soon...


	3. You Make Me Torn in Two

**AN :** _Hello I'm back! It's nice to be able to upload this chapter since the RL was quite crazy this last week. Thank you for the reviewers and readers of this story, thank you for all the faves and story adds too. I just want you to know that the story will be in multiple point of view, just like this chapter that is in Hermione's and Harry's POV, but other than those 3 characters I think there'll be no other. So Happy Reading to you all!_

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><p>Chapter 3 – You make me torn in two<p>

_**Hermione's POV**_

I heard voices somewhere around me, it seemed so far away. I drifted in and out of consciousness, '_What's wrong with me?_' I wondered. I knew those voices, it's so familiar yet it seemed so foreign to me. I tried to recognise the voice, but it was so hard... I felt like floating...

I jolted out of unconsciousness... I remembered that voices, the first one belong to Professor Dumbledore, the second one... it belongs to... Malfoy...

Flashes of memories came to me. My fight with Ron... and then a blur... I awoke at the infirmary... Harry tried to make sure I'm okay... Malfoy was there... I remembered looking right into his eyes... Those brilliant blue eyes... Something stirred deep inside me... I felt a magical force surround me, binding me and I found myself in the verge of surrendering myself... but to whom? Is it to him? Malfoy? And I remembered when my brain took over... NO... it couldn't be... I won't be bound to him... And I remembered being in so much pain...

I whimpered, reliving those memories made me feel those pains again. But then I felt someone soothe me... Two hands hold my hands, tracing circles at the back of it with his thumbs. The action calmed me down a bit, melting away my pain and I drifted back to the blackness.

Between my limbo states, I heard his whispering...

'_I hope that he's right my love. I vow that I'd do my best to show you who I really am... How good I can be for you... Please, at least give me one chance to proof myself... __o__ne chance to have my happiness with you.'_

'_I won't go far my love, I'll be right here beside you_.'

'_Get well soon... I'll be watching over you..._'

Those words that came out of his mouth... and the way he said it... I didn't have a choice but to believe that he was sincere... But my brain still nagged me on, cautiously warning me of who this man was... a Malfoy that couldn't be trusted, sly, and dangerous. I was torn in two...

_**-*%# Here I Am #%*-**_

I woke up in the infirmary with Madam Pomfrey hovering over me. She smiled to me, patting me on the head. "Welcome back, dear. Do you feel any better?" She asked, "Would you like something to eat or drink? You've missed the new year opening ceremony and the feast."

"Am I?" I asked with a croaked voice, still couldn't get my bearing straight. I tried to calculate my body condition at the moment and said, "It would be nice to have something to drink, I suppose. My throat is parched."

"I'll ask one of the house elves to prepare some easily digested food for you along with the beverage, dear." She said and then inquired, "What would you like to drink?"

"I think plain water will suffice, thank you." I said.

"Twiny!" She called, a small house elf popped into the room. "Please fetch a glass of plain water and a bowl of broth, thank you."

"Of course Madam Pomfrey," The elf bowed her head and was out of the room with another faint pop.

"Twiny will be back in a moment. Just lay back for a while and when the food arrived try to eat as much as possible, okay?" She said, "If you need me I'll be in my office."

"Umm... Madam Pomfrey?" Stopping her before she left the room, "When will I be able to get back to my dormitory?" Before she could reply to my question I added, "I think that I'm all right now and I'm strong enough to walk back to my room. I really don't want to miss my first day of school."

She frowned for a moment, taking a few moments to consider my request. "I think that now the pain you felt had gone away and that there's no sign of concussion; it's quite safe for you to leave the infirmary." She said, "The only thing that still need to be done is making sure you're properly nourished. So, I'll let you get back to your room after you finish the food that Twiny has brought for you." She gestured to the tray of food laid on the bed side table.

"When you're finish with your food let me know and you'll be free to go." She said, walking back to her office.

I started to eat the broth; it felt nice on my empty stomach, making me warm inside. It was a mechanical thing to do, eating the broth, one that I could accomplish without too much attention to the action. It caused my mind to wonder freely to other things, mostly to the accident that happened to me earlier today and particularly to the owner of the piercing blue eyes, Draco Malfoy.

The incident and the feelings that were brought by it make me wonder. Somehow, there was something magical happened today, I could feel it in my bone, and I needed to find out what it was. I felt restless, something was missing, something was wrong with me. I needed to do some research, that's what I'm good at. I must find the answer to this mystery...

_**-*%# Here I Am #%*-**_

_**Harry's POV**_

'_What's the ferret doing here?_' I wondered. I didn't understand him at all; today he's been acting weird. He seemed unable to leave Hermione's side during the train ride, until now... '_Why's he lurking in the deserted hall, near the infirmary... and he looked quite agitated_'.

I was under my invisibility cloak with every intention to slip into the infirmary to visit Hermione when I encountered Malfoy lurking in the dark near the infirmary. I almost hexed him, but thought of something better. It's in my advantage that I didn't bring Ron with me; I'd like to observe him. His behaviour irked me to no end.

Malfoy stood in the most secluded part of the hall, nearly hidden behind armour. His attention was at the door of the infirmary, it seemed like he was waiting for something to happen. No, I thought it's an understatement; it's more like he's willing something to happen with all the devotion that showed in his face.

Suddenly the door was opened from the inside. Hermione stepped through the doorway, accompanied by Madam Pomfrey who's talking to her. "Are you sure you're strong enough to walk to your dormitory alone? I'll be glad to accompany you there dear."

"I'll be fine Madam Pomfrey, thanks for your concern." Hermione said, smiling to the matron then walking away. That's when I saw movement from the corner of my eyes; Malfoy was moving even further back to the shadow of the armour. He didn't want to be seen by Hermione. He let Hermione passed him then started to follow her. I hesitated for a moment, between showing myself to both of them or further observing Malfoy's attitude. Finally, I decided to follow them discreetly.

Malfoy followed Hermione without her being any wiser about it. It looked like he didn't have any intention to confront or hurt her. After a while I understand his action, he was trying to protect and watch over her, almost to the point of stalking. '_He was stalking'_ I exclaimed to myself. This was not good... not good at all...

Right then, Hermione arrived at the portrait hole of the Fat Lady, entrance to the Gryffindor common room. She paused in front of the portrait, looking right and left, and then stood there as if she didn't know what to do next. Then it dawned to me that she didn't know the new password, luckily the frame swung open and some third year students stepped out of the dormitory. Hermione caught the frame before it closed again, smiled to the other students, and then climbed over the portrait hole into the common room.

I saw Malfoy stare longingly at the spot where Hermione had been standing before, sighed heavily, then turned back to where he came from, passing me in the process. He looked so forlorn... That was when the realisation hit me like a train... Malfoy was in love with Hermione... No... It couldn't be... Love is a strong word, infatuated maybe or obsessed would be a better word, but love? When was this thing started?

I walked quickly to enter Gryffindor's common room, hoping that I would still get the chance to catch Hermione there. I looked around and found her talking to Ron whose arms were literally full of Brown. From Hermione's body language I could tell that the conversation wasn't going well. I quickly approached them and pulled Hermione's attention away from the other two. I didn't want Hermione to get upset again so soon after she recovered from her illness.

"Hermione, do you have a minute? I need to speak with you alone." I said, emphasising on the word alone to her, hoping that she understood the importance of my request. I saw from the corner of my eyes that Ron was about to protest for not being involved in the conversation but I really didn't want to hear him out. His action, starting from the train ride until this evening, didn't bode well with me. The assumptions he made callously on Hermione's altered appearance showed that he didn't care enough about her. And after that, he practically abandoned Hermione after the accident in the train, didn't even ask about her condition. Practically tangled up with the attention Brown gave him, playing the innocent victim of Hermione's justified wrath. I was quite disappointed with him.

I clasped my right hand on Hermione's left one then dragged her away from Ron and Brown. "Wow, what's wrong with you Harry?" She asked, "What's the rush?"

I didn't answer her immediately, walking rapidly to a secluded corner of the common room. "Where have you been? I was just asking about you to Ron back there and he said he didn't have a clue to your where about." She cast a calculating glance to me. "Why did you bring your invisibility cloak Harry? Had you been out?"

"Honestly Hermione, it should have been me who enquired about your well-being and not the other way around." I said, "Let's get you a comfortable seat first. You must be tired after your long walk to get here; I can see that your strength hasn't come back entirely." I manoeuvred her to the most comfortable sofa in the area, making her sit down on it.

"Now, tell me honestly how do you feel?" I asked her and then casted a privacy charm around us while waiting for her answer, "Do you still feel any pain at all?"

"I'm fine now, honestly. The pain has subsided, although I still feel like something is not quit right with me." She said, frowning a little, "Wait! How did you know that I was just walking straight from the infirmary?" Her eyes flickered to the invisibility cloak on my hand, narrowing her eyes then asked, "You followed me here from the infirmary? Why didn't you walk with me instead of following me around like a stalker?"

"That's what I need to talk to you about." I said, "At first, my intention was to visit you at the infirmary. Madam Pomfrey had thwarted my attempt to see you this evening after the feast, saying that you're still unconscious."

"So I got back to my room to fetch my cloak, hoping that I'd be able to sneak into the infirmary to see you." I continued, "But when I got back there, I saw Malfoy lurking in the hallway that leads to the infirmary. He was standing so close to the armour; my guess was, so that anybody passed through the hallway from the infirmary could not detect him."

"I couldn't get into the room without him seeing me open the door, so I watched him for sometimes." I said, "Well, I must admit that I was quite curious as to why he was there in the first place."

"When you emerged from the room, he followed you until you arrived safely here at the dorm." I said, "I think he's trying to make sure that you're safe Hermione... I know it doesn't make sense, but..." I stopped my story telling when I saw Hermione fidgeting on the sofa as if she has something to tell but hesitated to speak to me. "Hermione... What's wrong?" I asked, when she failed to answer me I continued, "Are you somehow involved with him Hermione?"

"What?" She exclaimed, "Absolutely n..." She faltered right there, trying several times to complete her sentence, but failing miserably. As if something restrained her from directly reject the idea. "I... I couldn't say it! I don't understand. What happened to me?" Her face was full of confusion.

"Something happened to me today Harry, "She said, nearly whispering, "Something magical that I couldn't explain. I don't know what it is, but I know that Malfoy was involved in it. Somehow I feel like I am bonded to him, and for the first few moments I felt like I am compelled to accept it, the bond." Her eyes pleaded me to make her understood. "Please help me Harry, I'm scared, I must know what happened to me."

"Of course I would help you Hermione." I said, worrying about her well-being. After all there was a Malfoy involved in the equation. I continued, "Anything you need, just tell me. I would do anything to help you get to the bottom of this problem."

"Thank you Harry, so much. I know I always can count on you." She smiled brightly.

"Maybe we could go to the headmaster and tell him about your suspicion. I'm sure he'll know what to do." I said.

"No... No... Not yet... I think it's too early for me to go to the headmaster." Hermione said, "I don't have any proof about anything. It's just a feeling; I don't want to bring this to his attention before I have some solid ground. It might've been just my imagination."

"So, what do you have in mind?" I asked, knowing that she would have planned something inside her head.

"Well, since I was always good with a book, I think it's best for us to start with doing some research at the library." She said, blushing slightly. "I think we can start tomorrow after we consult our new time table." She paused for a moment, and then continued hesitantly, "Should we ask Ron to join us?"

Frowning at her suggestion, I said, "I think it isn't a wise move to tell him Hermione. I don't think he'll react kindly to your story." After some deliberation finally I told her, "I'm afraid he'll only make the situation blow out of proportion and put the blame on you by accusing you of something that out of your control, just like earlier today."

Hermione relaxed slightly when I told her my opinion of Ron. "I think you too are reluctant to share the story with him, right?" I asked her.

"Actually... Yes..." She sadly said, "I don't want him to know about Malfoy. After I saw his reaction to my story on the train, I think that I don't have any faith for him to believe me this time either."

"So, let's keep this thing between us for now. Okay?" I smiled to her, trying to reassure her that it's going to be all right.

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><p><strong>AN : So there's the new chapter, I hope you like it. And I hope that I'll be able to write the next few chapters ASAP! CU soon... ;-)<strong>


	4. The Change in Our Standing

**AN : I would like to say 'thank you' to all of the reviewers, especially to ChloeDracoMalfoy; I wholeheartedly agree with your opinion, it is sucks to love someone who would trample down your heart like it doesn't matter. But fortunately I already promised that this story would end happily ever after... So there'll be no need for a huge stack of handkerchief here, well... probably one or two for some tight spot here and there. **

**to all of my readers and reviewers, I hope that today's update is good enough for all of you. It's a little bit short but all the same, please enjoy it!**

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><p>Chapter 4 – The change in our standing<p>

_**Draco's POV**_

I was anxious, waiting restlessly for the answer to my letter from my father. I knew it was a bit too much to expect Plato, my owl, flying to and fro Malfoy Manor in a day, but I was still searching expectantly for him when some owls started to arrive at the Great Hall at breakfast.

I distractedly perusing my new schedule for this year, making sure that I seated on every class that I have planned to learn. Contrary to the popular believe, I earned every single mark I've got. My father pressed it upon me on the importance of knowledge since I was only a little boy. He encouraged me to peruse our library at home, directing me to the more suitable books for my age. In the end, he made me love books dearly.

The thought of books made me remember about Hermione and our shared fondness of it. And it made me remember that actually, there were several books that I want to share with her, books about Veela culture, customs, and rituals. The books were highly rare, since only people with Veela trait could procure them and a large part of them were written by the ancestor of the family, making them more of a journal then a published book. She has privileged to peruse those books, since she was my mate... You could call it a fair chance to understand what you've been dealt with. Yes... When the time was right, I'll give her some books about my inheritance.

I wondered how she was doing right now. My eyes wandered through the crowd, searching among Gryffindors in the Great Hall. At the same time as my eyes found her, hers were looking at me. I met her eyes, a large part of me expecting her to look the other way when I caught her staring, but no... She kept her gaze straight at me.

Her eyes were full with questions, questions that at my weakest point I would want to avoid answering... afraid of her ultimate rejection when finally, she fully understood what was going on. And that it would eventually leads to my demise. No... no... It wasn't right, the thing that frightened me the most was the realisation that I wasn't good enough for her, that she wasn't able to see pass through the superficial thing, to see the real me. But I tried to brace myself and put a boost of courage on myself, somehow I would pass through this test in one piece.

Then I also saw fear in her eyes. '_No..._' I pleaded with my eyes, '_Do not fear me my love, I would never hurt you. Never again__!_' I remembered and felt repentant of the pain I caused her for the past five years. It felt as if we were communicating silently from different side of the room, because she seemed to hear the soothing words on my head, making the fear in her eyes lessened considerably.

Our silent communication was broken by the arrival of Plato, my owl. He hooted to catch my attention and when it was not working he nipped the edge of my ear, forcing me to direct my attention to him. He raised his right leg when my attention was properly placed on him; dangling from his leg was a letter and a package from my father. It seemed that the news I sent home deemed to be of great importance, hence the haste reply. I untied the letter, including the package and slipped it inside my robe, waiting for some privacy to read it. Meanwhile I patted Plato and rewarded him with a large chunk of meat for his great effort in delivering the letter rapidly.

"You've got some treats from home, I noticed?" Blaise asked me, "It seemed that we're going to have some large amount of treats later tonight. Your mother is always the best mate." He patted my back, "I kinda fancied the home made chocolate cake your mother always sent you every other day, you know."

I cast a glance to him and said, "I'm afraid that the delivery was not something to be divided among us this time."

"I don't believe it. What other thing that was so important to be delivered this early on?" Goyle said from the other side of the table, his face scrunched up in confusion. Blaise and Nott nodded their heads in agreement.

"It's none of your business." My voice turned cold, I glared at them and continued haughtily, "Do not poke your nose into my private affair, you might regret it latter."

I tried to continue my breakfast, but lost my appetite. I was too anxious about the letter and I didn't like the curiosity my friends showed towards my personal affair. So I rose from my spot on the table to get out of the great hall, heading for my dorm to gather my books and supplies for the day then walking to my first class of the day. I hoped that the class would still be empty, so I would have a chance to read my letter before the class begin.

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><p>Finally, I was alone. I didn't have a single chance to open the letter until late at night. There I was sitting on the most secluded corner of the library, felt confident that no one would bother me at last. It was after all the first day of school, so the library would be deserted since no one would have the urged to delve in books so early in the term. So where is the letter and package?<p>

_Dear Son, _

_I hope this letter and the package found you well and sound. I had put a recognition charm on the letter so that nobody but you could read what's written inside._

_The letter you send me had been well read and well thought of. And hence, I wrote this letter to discuss every aspect of it thoroughly. Do not open the package before you're through with this letter as in this letter there's some important facts that you need to know before you open that package._

_First of all, your mother and I would like to congratulate you for the finding of your mate. It considerably made us felt relieved and hopeful of your future. Yes, we are relieved and hopeful, because now we know who your mate is and we can plan accordingly to secure her as your life partner._

_While it seem__s__ dire in your perspective__,__ you should not crumble in hopelessness. When there is a will there'll always be a way, my son. And you must remember that we as Malfoys always get what we want. It's just a matter of how we would achieve it. Every Malfoy before you had gone through this and walked out as the victor, looked at us as the evidence. The Malfoy's line__still persist__s__ until today._

_Now, that you have found the one that's meant for you, it's time for you to read the journal that is attached to the letter. Nobody but a Malfoy could read what's inside. Its entries __are__ about every __measure__s your ancestors went through to be worthy of their mate. Every single story has their own spice and twist, even in the story of me courting your mother. _

_The journal was meant to inspire and encourage every generation of Malfoy heirs so we do not fall into despair by the impossibility of it all. And now, it's time for you to read those stories and take lessons from them, and when you finally succeed with your own task, to write your own story in it. _

_A wise word that has been passed down to every generation of Malfoy: Do not give up on what's rightfully yours, but understand that__ with __every ownership come obligations and sacrifices. Understand that, in you claiming Miss Granger as your mate comes the obligation to protect, cherish, and understand her. And to be able to do that there'll be sacrifices that must be made to make it happen._

_Talking about sacrifices that must be done, Professor Dumbeldore __was__ right when he told you that, Miss Granger and our family wouldn't be safe from the Dark Lord's wrath when he knew about your inclination to her. So be it! Let's take the sacrifice needed for her to be safe. Tell Professor Dumbledore that I'll be meeting him t__his week end__ to discuss this change of tide __in__ our family standing. _

_In the mean time, I have put our home under Fidelius Charm with me as the secret keeper. You would be told about its location when we meet at __the end of the week__._

_Finally, I hope that Miss Granger's health is already better right now. As far as I remember there's never been something like this happened in our family, but I'll find some information about it as soon as possible. Maybe you can peruse the journal I gave you, in case I forgot about some important information in it. And don't forget to make sure that she is well at all times._

_Take care and see you __this week end__._

_Your father,_

_Lucius Malfoy_

I knew my father would always support me on this matter, but still it was overwhelming and awe inspiring that he would desert one of his main principal in a blink of an eye for me. The precaution he took for the safety of our family and his willingness to negotiate with Professor Dumbledore showed his foremost priority is always his family. I respected him more because of that.

I gathered my belonging and stood up from the library chair, intending to head to the headmaster office to give him the news from my father. When I passed by a couple of shelves on my way out of the library I saw Hermione sat on one of the sofa with Potter by her side. I paused to watch her for a while, it seemed like she was doing some research with the pile of book accumulated on the desk. Then I realised that she was trying to understand what happened to her.

I doubted she could find anything about Veela that accurate enough within those books. As I said before, we hid the knowledge about our race very well since we don't want to be manipulated by others. It made me took a note, as soon as possible I'll enquire to my father about those books I wanted Hermione to read. Yes, one way or another I'll make her understand.

After several more minutes of scrutinising her, I moved away from the shelves and out of the library, continuing my pursuit in finding the headmaster.

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><p><strong>Another AN : I almost forget, I'd like to thanks FluffyPurpleBunny, the manager of Destined to Love Community, for adding my story to her(or him, i'm not sure) community forum. I really like the community, since I am a fan of stories 'where Hermione is the destined mate of one of male character' (I quoted this section from FPB).<strong>

**CU on the next chapter...!**


	5. Searching for The Truth that Eluded Me

**AN : Happy New Year to you all! Let's hope that this year brings more prosperity and peace around the world. I'm sorry for the delay in posting this story, long holiday and all put a diversion on my mind for sometime. And I must admit that some wonderful story on this site had my attention for awhile too. **

**And I just want to remind you that, this story absolutely contains some Ron bashing and a more mature Harry. So, let's dive to the story shall we? See you at the bottom and I hope you'll enjoy it!**

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><p>Chapter 5 – Searching for the truth that has eluded me<p>

_**Hermione's POV**_

It's been a very frustrating week, the information I've been searching for has eluded me. It felt like searching for a needle within piles of hay. I've looked inside books about charms, curses, and even dark spells, in which I must retrieve from the restricted section under Harry's invisibility cloak at ungodly hour, to no avail.

Every possibility had been listed and then crossed from it because of the impossibility. There was a charm that suppose to create the same symptoms that I felt only to find that it won't last this long. There were many possibilities in dark spells section but all of them included blood ritual in which I was sure that Draco didn't have the blood that would be required for it. I startled a bit, _'Draco? Since when do I call him Draco?'_ I frowned, thinking that I've gone mental to think of him in such a familiar nature. There, I felt the ache again in my chest; I noticed after a few days that every time I thought something negative about him my chest would feel some dull ache.

Pushing out of my musing, I forced myself back to the problem at hand. But it didn't matter how many times I perused those books, there was nothing in them that could explain what happened that day on the train, either way I was doomed. I felt myself begin to float back to my favourite daydream this week, the memories of those piercing blue eyes that looked right into my soul and the soothing voice that accompanied them. Then, I drifted to sleep right there in the library.

I woke up with a start, hearing voices even before I gained my full bearing. I remembered that I was at the library alone, still searching for some answer to my predicament, because Harry was off to some quidditch practice. I must have fallen asleep, so exhausted by the research I've done these past few days. I heard giggles from one of the shelf that was near to where I was seated, feeling curious I stood from my chair and walked to the source of the voices. There, stumbling from behind one of the shelf a very dishevelled Brown with Ron right behind her, his hands under her skirt and the zipper of his pants undone. It seemed like they were about to enter a shagging session or already in the middle of it.

I thought that at least I would feel a small amount of jealousy or even worse, have quite a deep hurtful feeling when I saw them together. After all, I thought that I had a crush for Ron for quite awhile. But it seemed that I was wrong, I didn't feel any of those things, but I definitely felt disgust. Their behaviour disgusted me because I thought about how degrading their manner was, Brown's for permitting Ron to do those things to her in public and Ron's for not considering her modesty even now when they realized that they had audience to their debauchery. I moved my eyes to some other place, giving them a chance to fix their appearance to a decent state.

When finally they were decent enough I fixed my gaze to them both and with a strict voice I said, "Since you both definitely know that it's against the rule to behave like that," I waved my hand to their general direction and continued, "So I didn't have to explain to you why, as a prefect, I must take this matter to our Head of House. I suggest that you make yourselves more presentable before we go to Professor McGonagall's office to straight this thing out."

Before I had a chance to gather the books that was on the table I heard a nasal voice from behind me, "You are just jealous because Ron's more interested with me than you!" She taunted me, "The prudent and proper Miss Granger got jealous because she couldn't have some." She cackled along the way, hoping to hurt my feeling and trying to make me rise to the bait. I just looked at her with a raised eyebrow saying, "Do you think that I would degrade myself to be used that way?" I shook my head in disbelief then turned my head back to the table to gather my book. I frowned a bit when I noticed that there's an additional book on the desk. Slightly distracted, I was just about to pick up the book when suddenly I felt a hex zinged and missed me narrowly, slightly burning a flock of my hair. I turned around quickly, pulling my wand out of my robe and pointing it to Brown. Before I could do anything though, I saw a hex flying through the air and made a connection with Brown's chest, rendering her unconscious. The next thing I knew, somebody took a step in front of me, effectively blocking Brown and Ron from my view. He stood with his back on me, standing in a protective stance. I could only look at his blond hair and I knew straight away that it was Draco who stood in front of me.

"Don't even think to draw your wand Weasel! Not even move a muscle." He said, "Step closer to that slut of yours!"

That's where Draco made the mistake, insulting Brown and Ron at the same time. Ron was always short tempered and the insult was enough to make him reckless. Pulling his wand out of his pocket, disregarding the fact that he couldn't be fast enough, he aimed it at Draco and as I predicted, before he could muttered any spell Draco already cast a body bind jinx towards him.

Draco relaxed his protective stance once he was sure that Ron was bonded properly and then turned around to face me. His eyes were full of concern, scrutinizing me from head to toe, frantically making sure that I was okay. His eyes zeroed on my slightly burnt hair, he let out a growl from his mouth, his eyes were livid with rage. Turning around with such a speed, he drew his wand in preparation to cast another spell to Brown and I knew just from the livid expression on his face he would cast a harmful spell on her. That's when I grabbed his right arm and held it in my hand.

"Don't... Don't do it. She's not worth the trouble." I said, pulling him so he would turn to face me. "Thank you though, for your help. Thank you for defending me against her." I smiled at him, trying to dampen his rage.

He startled, surprised that I felt thankful to him. But in a heartbeat his facial expression turned from surprised to exceedingly happy. His face lit up and his lips turned up into the first genuine smile I had ever seen on him. For sometimes it looked like he wanted to touch my face and examined me more thoroughly but he hesitated, afraid that I would get mad at him.

Maybe it was an impulse or something else, I didn't know but I held his left hand, since his right one was still holding his wand, and pulled it up to touch my face, giving him permission to scan my face fully. His face was so elated; it made my heart fluttered rapidly.

He frowned when he once again saw the singed hair. "It's okay, I'm fine. It's just a lock of hair and I can assure you that it'll grow again over time. There's been no damage on the skin." I said and after some consideration in my head continued, "Maybe I can cut it short, change my hair style entirely?" I was still musing aloud when suddenly I realised that I comfortably chatted about insignificant thing to Draco of all people. '_How could I feel so comfortable around him? So safe... His hand that was touching my face, felt so right._' I blushed at the thought.

His voice interrupted my internal musing, drawing my full attention to him. He said, "No, don't! Don't cut your hair! They're most beautiful this way." He lifted his hand, caressing and stroking my hair; his hand was running smoothly through the strands. He casted a small charm and suddenly the part of my hair that had been burnt were cut and grew to its original length.

"You traitor! I should've known that you are just a whore!" Suddenly Ron bellowed from his spot, he might not be able to move because of the body bind jinx but surely his mouth could run afoul. "All this time you've been consorting with the enemy!" He yelled, "With a Malfoy of all people!" His face turned red, indicating that his temper had reached its peak.

The serenity I felt blown away with Ron's words to me, I blanched and whether I wanted it or not my brain started to reiterate the reasons of how wrong for me to feel drawn to Draco. In the middle of my conflicted feelings towards him, I felt that it was not wise to trust him completely and I felt the urge to make a huge distance between us. Suddenly I was crippled by a stabbing pain in my chest and lost my standing, falling on my knees to the floor.

Draco, who was raging by the insult Ron has thrown at me, lost his anger straight away. He gathered me in his arms, kneeling on the floor. Panic and fear flashed through his eyes, confused by my sudden illness. But there in his arms, from the first time I felt his embrace, my pain subsided immediately, replaced by tranquillity so profound that I couldn't deny that I felt safe in his arms.

I heard Ron was still spitting some nonsense in the background; his temper hasn't show any sign of abating. Draco flicked his wand at Ron's direction and immediately the voices were muted, undoubtedly he was using Muffliato charm on him. I felt a great relief with the quietness of the library and just for a moment laid my head on Draco's chest, inhaling his natural scent of cider and pines that engulfed me and at the same time relishing in how comfortable it felt to be in his arms. I wondered where Madam Pinche was, when we needed her the most.

"Are you all right? Do I need to take you to the infirmary, Hermione?" He asked, pulling me out of my dreamy state. "Is it hurt badly, your chest?" He continued, paying attention to my countenance, looking for any sign of discomfort.

"No, I'm fine now. The pain was gone the moment you hold me in your arms." I said, flushing in embarrassment at the statement and slightly bewildered by the truth of it. "How can it be?" I murmured, trying to understand. I lifted my eyes to see him, looking into his eyes in the hope that he could explain some things to me. I thought he understood my plea, because the next thing I saw fear flashing in his eyes and then hesitation, but in the end he steeled himself with determination and said, "I think we should take a seat first. It would be more comfortable for you." He lifted me up from the floor and gently put me on the nearest chair available, but before he could take a seat himself someone was clearing his throat to gain our attention.

"Do you mind enlightening me about what's going on here?" I heard Professor Snape spoke with his usual disparaging tone, flicking his gaze on unconscious Brown and bonded Ron, seemingly bored to death with their circumstances. But still, he looked at Draco with expectant eyes, urging him to explain the situation. "Draco?" He asked.

I turned my head to Draco's direction, looking upward because he was standing slightly behind me with his hands resting on the back of the chair. When he saw that I was looking at him, he moved his hands to my shoulders and squeezed tenderly. Then he lifted his gaze to Professor Snape and answered the question. "I saw Brown trying to hex Granger from behind, I thought it was very ungallant of her to do that so before she was able to cast another spell, I rendered her unconscious." Draco said, "The Weasel couldn't accept that so he reacted badly, trying to hex me in return. Because of my fast reflex, I succeeded in bested him and put him under body bind curse."

"But why was she trying to hex Miss Granger in the first placed Draco?" Professor Snape asked, as if trying to get me into trouble but before I could answer his question Draco already did it for me.

"I believed that Granger caught them in a compromising situation, Professor. And she, as prefect, intended to report the incident to Professor McGonagall." Draco said, "Brown taunted Granger to make her lose control and when it didn't work, she was livid and hexing Granger with the first spell that popped in her head, narrowly missed her in the process."

I was surprised of how detail his retelling was and wondered whether he had been observing me all of this time. Well, if I was to be honest with myself, I should've known that he's been watching over me for the last few days, just like what Harry told me.

Professor Snape seemed to think for a bit, making a decision on the situation. "50 points from each of you," He said, gesturing to Brown and Ron, "for trying to hex a fellow student. And for your other indiscretion, unfortunately I don't have the authority to deal with you on that matter, so I will personally escort you to Professor McGonagall's office right now." He flicked his wand twice, the first one was to resuscitate Brown and the second was to release Ron from his binding. "On your feet and make yourselves presentable! We're heading to Professor McGonagall's office right away!" He said, ushering the semi presentable Brown and Ron to the door. Before he was out of the door, he looked back at Draco and said, "I think both of you would be needed as witnesses, make sure you catch up as soon as possible."

When Professor Snape was out of the door, Draco turned his head to me. He paused for a while to ponder, before finally moved to grab something from the table. "Here, since we couldn't talk right now I want you to read this book first." Draco said. I recognised the book as the one stranded on my table. It seemed that Draco was the one who put it there. "You left it on purpose on the table." I told him the obvious thing, looking at the book, reaching out my hand to take it from his hand.

"Yes, I am." He answered, somewhat looking sheepish. "I must admit that I've been paying close attention to your struggle these past few days." He gestured to the piles of books on the table. "I know the answers to your questions and I am sure that you won't find them in any of those books." He said, "I must confess that in my desperation to make you understand, I made the chicken way out, leaving the book to be found by you."

"I believe that it would be best if you read about some of the facts first from other source then me," He said, "giving you time to adjust to the idea and then perhaps... Perhaps you would give me a chance to explain it further or even would seek me out with head full of questions."

"That's why I left the book for you to find." He explained in a soft tone, "I'm afraid that you wouldn't accept it too kindly if I tried to explain things directly to you." He looked at me warily for some time. I frowned at his words, all the while caressing the spine of the book that was now lying on my lap. I opened the book to the first page hesitantly, at first the page was blank but when I touched the paper words began to appear at the surface of it. I gasped, hesitating further but finally deciding that my curiosity was greater than the cautiousness in my head. So I began to read,

_Welcome home, O... The fated one..._

_The long lost half of our kin,_

_The one who completed him,_

_Now that you are here, let's start this journey of a tale_

_For only we could tell, the story of our race_

_Back from the beginning of time_

_To make you understand and appreciate_

_The depth of his despair in finding you,_

_The one soul, mated to him for all eternity_

_So blind and ignorance of your fated bond_

_Read with an open mind,_

_An unclouded heart,_

_An incisive eye,_

_And we hope that at the end of the journey_

_You'll give him a fair chance_

_To proof the worthiness of his claim to you_

_O... the fated one_

_With this tale of our heritage_

_We welcome you to our family_

_We welcome you to the realm of the Veela _

I was shocked, staggered beyond believe. Every scenario that had crossed my mind never considered this possibility at all, but in my defence there was near to nothing about Veela in any book that I read. There's only explanation about their feature that could only be applied for pure-blooded Veela. There's never been a description to identify whether a witch or wizard have Veela's trait in them.

So, this means that Draco is a Veela descendant. I pondered what the consequences of being a Veela descendant were and what's that have to do with me. I felt quite desperate since there's so little information about the subject. I glanced one more time at the page in front of me, the passage in the book alluded that it would have some answers for me. For awhile I felt hopeful that finally I would understand, but my brain kicked in, badgering me with cautious warning that this book might've been a big sham that was being planted by the Malfoys. My chest felt another thud of pain at my traitorous thought, but I couldn't dismiss the notion to be cautious so I decided that at the first chance I've got I would bring this book to Professor Dumbledore to be checked.

I looked up to see his face full of anticipation, longing, and some wariness. My gut told me that whatever the consequence of being a Veela descendant is, it was something of great importance, looking at how nervous Draco was.

"So, you're a Veela descendant." I said, looking straight into his eyes.

"Yes, I am." He said carefully, gauging my reaction to his statement while at the same time he casted what I believed to be silencing charm around us, quite powerful too if I was correct. So this conversation was very important and secretive.

"And what was the significance of your lineage to me? What's that have to do with me?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrow. In a flash all of the information about Veela that I had learned this far was running through my head. I gasped, my eyes widen when I remembered crucial information on them.

'_While Veela are always believed to be alluring human to admire and sometimes develop deep fascination for them, it is incorrect to say that they do it on purpose. It is inevitable that some human fall for their ethereal beauty, but the Veela never purposefully leads the human astray. People are often mistaken Veela to entirely different breed, which is popularly called succubus.'_

'_Contrary to the popular believe, Veela is a faithful race. The male is only mated once in a life time and will ceased to exist if he doesn't find his mate; there'll be no other for him. It was said that male Veela can have a female human as their mate and produce descendant with mixed human-Veela trait. But since they are a very secretive race, very little information is available to explain further about this theory._'

"Is it true that Veelas only mated once in a life time?" I asked timidly.

"Yes, that's true." He answered.

"Is it true that they would have no other but the one they're mated to?" I asked, worrying my lips in the process.

"Yes, we are. We don't have the capability to be attracted to another female other than our mate." He said.

"How do you choose your mate?" The last question I asked directly to him.

"We don't choose our mate, they are chosen by the Veela inside us." He said.

"The Veela side just pick your mate out of nowhere?" I said, incredulously.

"It's always believed that it will choose the most compatible mate for us." He said, fidgeting in the process.

"You have no say in it?" Again, I asked him directly, looking straight to his eyes, trying to detect any lie in them.

"Yes, I don't have a say in it, Hermione..." He said, looking so forlorn.

I realised now what this all about, his Veela side chose me to be his mate. Even if I didn't want to believe it, from the look of it, this is real. Then another realisation stroked through me, with a slightly tremble voice I asked him, "Is it true that you would die if you do not find your mate?"

He hesitated for awhile and then slowly said, "I will cease to exist if my mate chose to reject me." His eyes looked at me in earnest, trying to relay the importance of his sentence. He still wasn't willing to name me as his mate.

"Do you mean that you will cease to exist if I rejected you, Draco?" I braved myself to say it out loud, challenging him to say otherwise, hoping so badly that it would not be the case.

_**-*%# Here I Am #%*-**_

_**Draco's POV**_

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath, strengthening my courage to answer the question. There it was, the moment of truth, the time to face my destiny. I opened my eyes, barely succeeded in hiding the turmoil that ran through my heart. "Yes, I will..." I said, so low that I didn't think that she could hear me.

I shifted my eyes from her to one of the further shelf in the library, refusing to look straight into her eyes, afraid of what I would see in those beautiful eyes. Up until this moment I always hoped that she would be shying away from the subject, preferring to gather all the information she could have first before she would confront me. That's why I chose to secretly hand her the book, hoping she would read it first and maybe with her greater understanding about Veela, I would have a greater chance to win her over. But since my plotting was failing miserably, I just had to brace myself for another few minutes to hear her decision. I wondered, '_Would it be painful to be departed from this world?'_

So lost was I in my own musing, I didn't aware of her thoughtful expression, thinking rapidly inside her head, calculating and considering every aspect of the problem. And I also didn't notice when she came into a conclusion and then moved to close the book, saying a few sentences in the process, until I heard her saying my name in a slightly raised voice to gain my attention. I looked at her with blank eyes and said, "I'm sorry, I was lost in thought. What did you say to me?"

Her eyes seemed to soften several degrees. "I've been thinking, since this whole thing is so new and overwhelming, I will need some time to think things over. Gather some more information, read the book you gave me, validate on some of the information." She said, trailing a bit, "This is true right? It's not just some sick joke you pull through or some prank?"

"Yes, this is absolutely true. I wouldn't play a game with this kind of thing." I said, "The proof is right there on your hand. The book cannot be read by normal people, the text will only appear if the one who touches the first page of the book has a Veela trait in his/her blood or she is a mate of a male Veela. Even people who try to read the book from behind your back when you're in the middle of reading it wouldn't be able to see anything."

She was quite for some time and then said, "I understand that this is a very important thing for you and that your life depends on it, so even though I couldn't give you a positive reply right now, I can safely promise you that I won't hastily make any decision regarding this situation. I ask you to give me some time and when I think I'm ready enough I'll discuss everything with you."

When I failed to respond to her proposition she began to fidget and said, "You don't think it's a good idea?"

"I'm sorry, I'm just so speechless. I didn't think that you would react this way, so calm and logical. I've been imagining all kinds of scenario that ended up with you freaking out when you found out that you're my mate. I guess I just didn't expect you to give me a chance, looking at how horrible I've been to you for the last 5 years." I said, amazed by her kindness. I smiled genuinely for the first time that night, feeling hopeful that somehow I'll be able to convince her to love me. _'Yes, I'll do anything that is in my power to win her over.'_ I thought.

And then the Slytherin in me kicked in, I would make her willingness to consider my suit in my advantage. Seeing how she seemed to be so cooperative I thought that it was a good timing for me to take the next step in solidifying my claim to her, which was asking her to give me permission to court her.

"Do you know that there are several steps in acknowledging a mating connection?" I asked her, when she shook her head in negative I continued, "Would you let me explain some of the steps before you read it fully in that book?"

She looked hesitate but finally nodded her head. "The first phase of the mating connection is when the male Veela recognises his mate and put a claim on her, while the female mate recognises the claim when she looked straight to his eyes. Do you remember the first time you looked straight into my eyes when you gained your consciousness back at the train?" I asked, feeling giddy when I saw her nodding her head in recognition.

"The second step in recognising a mating connection is when a Veela proposed to court his mate. If you think that being a mate of a Veela means that at one moment you would be claimed and at the next moment you'd be marked, you are sorely mistaken. Veela is not a beast, for example Veela is not like a dragon, which in recognising its mate one would immediately mark his female, with or without consent." I said, looking at her to gauge her reaction, when I was sure that she wasn't freaking out, I continued, "I am obliged to court you, to give you a chance to consider me as your mate, to know each other better. You must give your consent for me to be able to complete our bonding."

"So since you seem to be willing to give this a thought," I said, gesturing between us, "Why don't we make it official and make this a courtship instead? Isn't it basically has the same purpose as what you asked of me earlier?"

"Isn't it a little bit too formal for us to use that term?" She nervously said.

"Well, in Veela's tradition, what you propose to me earlier is the equivalent of asking me to court you. There is no use to call it otherwise." I said, trying to convince her to agree with me. "After all, just like any other courting, you have the privileged to refuse me in the end."

After a few deliberation she said, "I think you are right. I won't deny you the chance to explain yourself as I already told you before."

"So you agree to let me court you?" I perked up, showing an ear to ear smile at her. When she nodded her head I continued in earnest, "Thank you for giving me this chance, I promise you that I'll be honest with you, and should you find the need of more information I can provide you with other books. Just tell me and I'll try to find it for you."

There at the moment I felt a surge of magic running through me, the Veela in me recognising that the courting phase has begun. And by the small widening of her eyes and the tiny jolt of her body, I knew that she felt it too. After a few moments of silence she was the one that broke the silence.

"I think we need to go now or Professor Snape will wonder where we were going." She said, ending our previous conversation. "I don't want to get a detention from him because we are lagged behind too long."

"Of course, let's go to the headmaster office." I said, flicking my wand to clear the library books from the table, leaving her to collect her personal belonging and the one book I gave her. Suddenly I remembered a very important thing that must be conveyed to Hermione. "Hermione, I'm sorry but I must insist that you keep this whole thing a secret. As you would've realised, Veela is a very secretive race." I said, gesturing to the book she held I continued, "The knowledge about our race is protected heavily and that means very few people is permitted to know about us. Only the godfather of a male Veela and his mate are allowed to learn about us. That's why I ask you to keep this a secret."

She thought about the information for awhile, holding the book closely to her chest as if it was very precious and it made me smile to see how she treasured it, and said, "I think I can understand your predicament and I promise you that I would keep this thing a secret for now."

"Thank you very much for your cooperation, Hermione." I smiled at her and then gestured for her to walk in front of me, treating her like a lady and we're off to go to the headmaster office.

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><p><strong>AN : Soooo... How do you think about this chapter? Please give a comment, I'll appreciate it so much and I'll be glad to know what's on your mind. Thank you for reading the story, I hope you're going to stop by at the next chapter! CU!<strong>


	6. Something, Not to Be Taken For Granted

**A/N** : It's been a long time... And I'm so sorry that I've been neglected this story for awhile. Although I already wrote 11 chapters of this story somehow I abandoned this one and become engulfed with reading other magnificent stories that makes me forget to continue my own pursue in writing one. I hope that I'll be able to post the story regularly from now on, and I hope that I'll get some good advice on how to expand this story further. Happy reading to all of you...

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><p>Chapter 6 – Something, Not to Be Taken For Granted<p>

_**Draco's POV**_

I couldn't believe this, I couldn't believe that somebody could be so daft and so self absorbed as to blatantly disregard another person wishes. I felt another batch of ire ran through me as I looked across the great hall to see that the redhead git had another go at Hermione. His actions of trying to woo Hermione have been repeated for so many times this last few days, with the same results every time he tried: rejection.

He confidently repeated the same measure every time with the most recent always a bit cheesier and slightly more public than the one before. He never listened to the sentences that came out of Hermione's mouth, every time a more blunt rejection than the time before and lately it has been bordering on crude. I have tried to make him see senses and put him in the right place, meaning: I tried to intimidate him a little bit. But Hermione caught me on the act, causing her to bluntly say that she didn't need my protection and that she could take care of herself.

It hurt a lot to hear those words from her, feeling that I wasn't needed by my own mate. It's my job to keep her safe, to keep her happy, it's in my nature. And the thing that made me more confused was that when she realised that I was hurt, she gasped and hold her hand against her chest, it hurt again. It made me desperate, because I didn't know what's wrong with her.

Back to the scene at the great hall, another dramatic act of the Weasel was taking place. I saw the flash of furry in her eyes as she lashed out what I believed the most hurtful tongue lashing of the century to the git. The redhead was losing his temper, got up of his chair and swayed his right hand in attempt to slap her. I got up from my chair so quickly, a growling sound came from the depth of my throat, but before I could stride across the great hall I saw Potter rising to her defence. He stopped the git's hand in mid air and forced it down with a great strength, pushing the git away from the table until he ended up with his bottom on the floor. Potter was standing in front of Hermione protectively, at the same time being on the receiving end of a loud shriek from the Weaselette.

While in one hand I was relieved that Hermione was not harmed, but in the other hand I felt disappointed that she was not seeking refuge in me. She seemed so comfortable with Potter, clutching her hand to his side, searching for protection, protection that she had refused when I was the one who gave it to her. It felt like a knife running through my heart and I did the only thing that I knew to cope with the hurt feeling. I put a wall around me, collecting all of my jumbled emotion, putting it at the back of my head, and replacing it with the cold eyes that I used to have before. Without another glance at the scene at the Gryffindor table I walked out of the room. I didn't realise that for some unknown reason her attention was diverted to me and her eyes was trailing behind me, catching my hardened expression and that after I was completely out of the room, she collapsed to the floor, totally losing her consciousness. And I didn't realise that a pair of calculating eyes were observing my reaction all the time.

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><p><strong>Harry's POV<strong>

I felt utterly helpless and I didn't like the feeling at all. Hermione collapsed in the middle of the Great Hall without cause and had been out of consciousness for almost half a day. It's almost dinner time by now and I still refused to leave her side. She's been brought to the hospital wing by Professor McGonagall, who's been in the Great Hall at the time it happened. I've been trailing right behind her, trying to make sure that Hermione will be all right. I was half expecting that Malfoy would be right behind me after all his weird behaviour this past week, but to my surprise he was nowhere to be found. Yes, he was missing... I knew of the fact because I heard Snape whispered to the headmaster that he couldn't find the ferret anywhere.

In an attempt to ease the desperation built in my heart, I casted my eyes around the room, trying to find something to do to spend the time. I stopped when my gaze fell on Hermione's belonging that was dropped by Neville earlier today. There was a thick book that was out of the bag, I faintly remembered that she was reading that book at breakfast before Ron interrupted her. Ron... I wondered if I could still be his friend and call him by his first name after all of this, the incident in the Great Hall was the last straw for me. Before, I was still hoping that he would see reason and let go of his superficial view on boy-girl relationship and friendship in general. But not anymore, finally my heart stopped making excuses for his awful behaviour towards Hermione and I realised that he will never treat Hermione with care and respect that she deserves.

In my musing, I unconsciously picked up the book and placed it in my lap. I caressed the cover and slightly wondered why there was no title there; curiosity got the better of me so I opened the book by the page mark that Hermione left behind. I would really like to know what was contained on the book, Hermione has been consumed by it this last few days. When my eyes first lay on the page I was confused, there was no letter on the paper, this cannot be, I was sure that this was the book that she's been reading for the past few days. I flipped the page backward to the beginning of the book, still nothing was written on the paper. I touched the paper on the first page and that's when I was startled, words were starting to appear on the paper. My head screamed that this was a dark magic, the one like Tom Riddle's diary, I couldn't believe that Hermione fell prey to this kind of magic, she was always careful. At the thought of it I tried to put my faith in her, this book couldn't be that bad, Hermione must have tested it beforehand and found that the book is safe; hence she continued to read it.

I just finished the first page, a poem about welcoming me to my inheritance; the knowledge of the Veela race, which I found totally ridiculous since I was sure that I was not a Veela descendant, when I heard the door to the infirmary opened and several people approached Hermione's bed. Never in my wildest imagination would I guess that the people who came to visit Hermione were Mr. And Mrs. Malfoy. I jumped out of my chair; the book still clasped tightly in my hands, and looked at the headmaster; who came with the Malfoys; with a flabbergasted expression.

While I was out of speech, the Malfoys didn't seem to realise that I was there in the same room with them. They were hovering over Hermione, worries clearly etched on their face. I heard Mrs. Malfoy asked the headmaster about how long Hermione has been out of consciousness and what attempts had been made to resuscitate her. It almost seemed like Hermione was her daughter and she was the loving mother. Then her next question made me jump out of my reverie, "And you said that Draco was missing?" She said, "He hasn't come here to attend to her? He must be here! It's his duty!"

"What do you mean that Malfoy must be here?" I finally got back my power of speech, "And what do you mean that it is his duty?" That's the first time both of the Malfoys realised that I was there all along. They looked at each other, seemingly undecided of what they should do at the moment. Professor Dumbledore was in the middle of intervene the awkward situation when suddenly I heard Mr. Malfoy spoke.

"It is not your business Mr. Potter, so I suggest that you stop sniffing around where you don't belong." He said, looking at me in disdain and then his eyes flicked at the book that I was holding. "And hand that book over it's not belong to you!"

"This book belongs to Hermione! It came with her belonging and I saw her reading the book this morning at breakfast, before this happened." I gestured to the unconscious Hermione and then my brain snapped, "You said that this book is yours? I understand now, Malfoy was the one who gave her this book, and I am sure that this book caused her harm."

I moved my attention to the headmaster. "It's full of dark magic, Professor. Just now, before you came I was trying to read it at the part where Hermione last read it, but I found that the page was blank." I said, "I skimmed the book until its first page and still found nothing, but when I touched the paper on the first page words began to appear." I opened the book and demonstrated it to the headmaster. The words started to emerge from the page when I touched the first page, looking up at Professor Dumbledore to see his reaction. He was surprised; well it's quite an understatement since I believed that the word shocked was more appropriate to describe his expression. I didn't understand why he was so shocked so I urged him on, "It's like the Riddle's diary all over again Professor. Don't you agree?"

When I didn't get any answer immediately, I started to feel exasperated. I looked to the other occupants of the room defiantly, daring them to contradict my accusation, but all I could see in their expressions were another flabbergasted faces. I frowned at their reaction to my words and started to feel that they, including the headmaster, have gone mental. Suddenly I heard the headmaster said, "Are you sure that you can see some words in that book Harry?" He asked cautiously while I stared at him in disbelief.

"Of course Professor! Can't you see the words etched on the page?" I said with indignation, shoving the text under his nose. "It's a poem mainly about welcoming me to my Veela heritage of all other thing, which I believe to be non sense since I couldn't be a Veela descendant, right Professor?" I looked at him with expectation that he would confirm my belief when he saw the poem written inside. But all that I received after my long tirade was a disconcerting gaze from him.

"Professor..." I said, trying to make him react to me. "Don't you agree that Malfoy deliberately put that book in Hermione's possession to do some harm to her? Look at her right now!" I raised my voice a little in desperation. I felt very protective of Hermione and on my wits end with her condition right now.

The headmaster finally gave some reaction to my ranting, he flicked his wand to cast Muffliato spell around the ward and reached for the book and pulled it into his hands. He observed the page that I showed him, tracing his finger on the page then he lifted his gaze to me. "Harry, I must inform you that Miss Granger had already brought this book to my attention a week ago. She asked me to check this book from dark spell and such. And I had given her my clearance that this book is totally safe." He said, "And just like a week ago, right now I can't read what's inside the book either, the pages are blank even after I touched it."

"But Professor..." I tried to protest but he cut me off.

"Let me explain to you, Harry." He said, looking at me pointedly. "I cannot see what's inside the book, because I'm not a Veela descendant."

"And as shocking as the news can be, I believe that you are one." He said, "That's the only explanation why you can read what's inside. You see Harry; this book is charmed so that only a Veela descendant can read what's inside. There's a complex recognition spell on that first page, so when a Veela descendant touch it, the information on the book would become available for him or her."

"So is it really true that I have a Veela blood in me, Professor?" I asked, "And you don't know about it before now?"

"It seems that you are, Harry. And I'm sorry to tell you that I am ignorant of this information until just now." He said, "Veela is a very secretive race, Harry. They protect their knowledge with fierceness and devotion so astounding that very few outside their circle knows about it. I never knew that the Potters have Veela trait on their blood."

Then something hit me like a bludger. "But it can't be true Professor." I said, "Hermione can read the book, it is impossible for her to be a Veela descendant. After all she's a Muggleborn!"

The headmaster seemed hesitate for a moment and casted a side glance at Mr. Malfoy, when he saw him nodded he continued. "Miss Granger can read the book for another reason Harry." He said, "She can read the book because she is the mate of a Veela."

"The mate of a Veela? Are you kidding me, Professor?" I exclaimed, feeling horrific by the term used. My head was spinning, trying to remember all of the information I had read about Veela this past week. Then the idea stroked me like a lightning, my eyes widen in understanding. "Malfoy is her mate, doesn't he?" I said, panicked. "No, I can't allow this to happen; I won't let him hurt her." My protectiveness of her peaked and my eyes darted to every corner of the ward as if I would find Malfoy somewhere near.

"Calm down Harry!" Professor Dumbledore reined me over. "You must not judge before you know the full fact. For now just trust me when I say that Draco will never hurt Hermione."

"Yes, he'll never hurt Hermione." Mrs. Malfoy said out of the blue, "He can't... it's in his nature. A Veela cannot hurt their mate, in contrary they're bound to protect their mate at all cost. You would understand once you've found your mate." She looked to her husband and said in desperation, "We need to find Draco soon, it's his duty to attend to Hermione. I couldn't imagine what will happen if we couldn't find him soon."

I was speechless; I knew that I needed to learn more about this Veela thing because I didn't want to make a rash decision. I found the information overwhelming and made my brain overloaded, I was drowning in confusion. I tried to clear my head from less important information and focussed my attention to the more important one. '_What's the most important thing right now?_' I thought, '_Hermione's health_' my brain screamed. Yes that's true, her health was the most important thing right now and by the look of it, it was important to have Malfoy here by her side to make her better so I did the most logical thing that I could do. I looked at the headmaster and said, "I'm going to find Malfoy and bring him here as soon as possible. Please excuse me."

I got out of the hospital wing, walking towards Gryffindor common room to retrieve the Marauder's map and my invisibility cloak. When I arrived, I didn't waste my time by greeted my fellow student at the common room instead I hurried up stairs to my dorm. I snatched the Marauder's map from my trunk and murmured '_I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good_' then I searched the whole map for Malfoy, '_there!_' I exclaimed, he was residing in the room of requirement. I covered myself with the invisibility cloak and walked out of the dorm to find and drag Malfoy to Hermione's side.

I was heading to the 7th floor corridor where the Room of Requirements was located. I had been walking on a brisk pace for almost 20 minutes before I finally arrived at the corridor. I hesitated for a moment, thinking of how I could enter the room while I didn't know what's on Malfoy's mind when he created it. I paced in front of the door, searching for an idea to get into the room. '_Maybe I should just camp here on the corridor, hoping to catch Malfoy when he got out of the room'_ I thought, but it's not good enough. '_Hermione's well being was in line so I didn't have much time. I must get to him as soon as possible._"

I was still pacing in front of the door when I chided myself to keep my wits about me, '_Don't lose control, Harry!_' I scolded myself and when the pacing didn't do anything to calm me I fumed under my breath, '_I need something to keep me calm before I do something rash._' Suddenly the door appear on the wall, apparently I was thinking something right that trigger the room to appear.

I opened the door only to find a void room with a single person in it, which is Malfoy. He didn't seem to hear me, just sat there at one side of the room with his back on the wall, unmoving. His eyes were closed and his face reflected an expression of a tormented man. I couldn't help but wondered what was wrong with him until he was on this state of mind.

I walked further into the room, causing echo through the room with my steps. Malfoy snapped out of his trance and when he saw me there, he snarled as if I was his worst enemy. His glazed eyes indicated that right now he was out of his mind and acted purely on instinct, '_Is this what happen to a person when his Veela trait takes over?_' I wondered, shivering inside.

I tried to speak to him gently, to coax him out of his trance, before he did something rash to me. "Are you okay Malfoy?" I asked him tentatively, "Everyone was looking for you, you know. You've been gone for hours. Even your parents are here, summoned by the headmaster to help with Hermione's recovery since he couldn't find you anywhere."

His eyes were gaining a bit of lucidity when I mentioned Hermione's current condition and with a coarse voice asked, "What's wrong with Hermione? The last time I saw her she was safe in your hand." His voice was full of bitterness.

"I don't know what's wrong with her but this morning after her debacle with Weasley, I'm sure you witnessed it right? She lost her consciousness and collapsed in the Great Hall." I said, "She hasn't regained her consciousness since then and I volunteered to find you because your parents seemed to believe that as her mate, you need to be by her side to attend to her."

Malfoy was now fully out of his trance state, the bad news about Hermione definitely put his head in perspective. "Where is she now?" He asked, panic was clear in his expression, the fact that I knew about his Veela heritage didn't cross his mind at all.

"In the hospital wing..." I said but before I was able to finish my sentence he was already out of the room, running in full speed. I was trying to keep up with him, but finally I gave up, I slowed down my pace and walked in a moderate speed. It wasn't like I didn't know where he's heading right?

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><p><strong>Draco's POV<strong>

If a word could describe what I felt right now it would've been 'devastated'. I felt my blood running cold; panic, guilt, rage running havoc in my mind. The rage was mainly aimed at me to be such a stupid jerk, how could I leave her for a long period of time? How could I so caught up in myself pity that I couldn't see what was more important. How could I be worthy of her if I wasn't even by her side at her time of need. Those thought evaded my mind while I was running nonstop to the hospital wing.

When I finally arrived at her ward the other occupants of the room looked up at me. I approached her bed in a long stride, desperate to see her condition and try to make her better. But before I could reach her my father blocked my path, I was in the verge of growling at him when I realised who he is and reigned myself in. He looked so displeased with me, which was a very rare occurrence, and it made me realised that I fucked up big time.

"Where have you been?" He hissed, "How could you not feel your mate distress? Did you forget all the things that I thought you since you were a boy? Your mate is the..."

"... Most important part of your life; to be cherished, loved, and protected at all cost. And that I couldn't afford to fail her ever." I cut him off, already heard the sentence over and over again all my life. It made me feel more grief to have my failure put right in front of my face.

Don't you know, that even my father always puts my mother above all others. He didn't permit my mother to enter into the Dark Lord's service, knowing how dangerous it could be. My mother told me once that while she was pregnant with me, she was only able to walk in the garden after she demanded it from my father, feeling claustrophobic, staying in the manor for so long without going anywhere. That's how protective my father is, although he would always surrender to my mother's whim when she had put her feet down.

His expression softened a bit and he stepped out of my way and said, "She needs you, son!"

I walked pass him to her side, she looked so pale and weak. I took inventory of her body, checking for external wound but finding none. So I touched her face just to have some sort of contact with her, only to find that she was so cold, it seemed like her life was fading away. I felt a sharp tug in my heart, what was wrong with her?

I cupped her face, caressing her cheeks with my hands in attempt to spread some heat into her. After a while I moved my hands down to her shoulder, to her arms, and finally to her hands, everything was so cold. I hold her hands in mine, intertwined our fingers never stopped looking at her face. I felt a hand tapped at my shoulder and I heard my mother whispered for me to take a seat, pulling me down to a chair that she had prepared for me.

Some minutes passed, and then some more... I leaned my head to her ear and whispered my deepest apology for neglecting her at her time of need, telling her that If I could I would take all of her suffering for myself, assuring her of my devotion and love, and that I would always be there for her from now on, my petty jealousy be damned, whatever her choice might be I would accept it with my head held high.

And after what was like the longest day of my life I felt some heat back to her hands and some colour back to her face. The first positive sign that appeared after a long period time of idleness. I started to caress her face again, willing her to gain consciousness. "Come back to me, my love..." I whispered in her ear. It seemed like she could hear me because the next thing I knew was that she opened her eyes slowly, slightly disoriented. I felt relief rushed through my body and my mood lifted a little bit.

She whimpered, changing her body position to be on her side, facing me. Her eyes were gaining its focus and she lifted them to my face. When our eyes met fear flashed through her eyes and she whimpered again. I rushed to comfort her and said, "It's okay... You're okay now. How do you feel? Do you need anything?" I picked up a glass of water from the bedside table and offered it to her. She hesitantly rose from the bed, propping her body with her elbow, reaching out for the glass. I refused to give the glass to her, determined in pampering her at every opportunity that I had, so instead I gently touched the edge of the glass to her lips and encouraged her to drink. After some gulps of water she stopped and lay back to the bed.

She stared at me for awhile and when she finally opened her mouth she said, "You were so angry at me." I was surprised, I didn't realise that she was aware of my anger towards her this morning. Before I could say anything she continued, "I could feel your anger this morning so clearly, it terrified me. I've been able to feel your emotion for sometimes now, it was like a roller coaster, your emotion, so widely ranged between happy, hopeful, elated, frustrated, doubtful, sad and even mad."

Her eyes turned sad, recalling this morning event on her mind. "But your anger had never been directed at me before, not until this morning. I could feel that you were angry and hurt so I looked at you and I saw that you were livid." She continued, "I didn't understand why you were mad so I started to put on my defence but suddenly I saw you detached yourself from your emotions, building a wall around you from everybody and even from me." At this point she shuddered violently, making me reach out to comfort her.

"I felt the connection broken and I could no longer feel you. Instead of feeling relieved that I couldn't feel your intense emotions any longer, I felt bereft and lost." She said, looking through my eyes in desperation so deep. She continued, "I was never appreciate that despite the turbulence of your emotions, there were always underline emotions, constant feelings of love and devotion that were always there for me."

"Yes, I never appreciated it before until I lost it in a blink of an eye. The moment you cut your connection to me, I thought that you abandoned me. That you would go away and never return." She said, beginning to sob because of grief she felt inside. "I felt empty inside and after that I felt like I was fading into nothingness."

I was mortified. I, as a Malfoy, have been educated since I was very young about my lineage, but in my most desperate moment I seemed to forget all about on it. As my father said, how could I not feel her distress? It was one of the basic knowledge that has been thought to me. Veela could sense the emotions of his mate, this ability is important for several reasons. First, to help the male Veela in courting his mate, to help him better understands her preference and character. Secondly, to protect his mate in a time of need. And as basic as it is, I failed to use the ability to protect her.

"What was wrong with me, Draco?" She asked, longing to know the answer. "I've been reading the books you gave me, but there were nothing like this ever explained on those books."

I needed to hold on to the fact of Veela's mating rituals and reviewed all of other confusing happenstance based on the fact. She was right, fully human mate would eventually have the ability to feel the male Veela emotions, but the fact showed that it would only appear after she accepted the male suit. So it was quite astonishing that Hermione could feel my emotions so early in the courtship phase. I felt anxiety running through me, there were so many things that were out of ordinary in our courtship. What was so different about her that created so many anomalies in so short a time?

'_She could feel my emotions so early..._' I wondered vaguely remembering a story in my ancestors journal, it is said that one of my ancestor mated with a Greengrass, another family with Veela lineage and that the mate could feel his emotions early at the courtship phase because of it. A suspicion came through, '_Is there a chance that Hermione is not a Muggleborn?_'

I guessed she could see that I thought about something, because she asked, "What do you have in mind Draco?"

"I have an idea, but I need to get my hand on my family journal and to discuss it with my father first." I said, "But I promise, I'll tell you as soon as my idea is proven right." I looked around the room to find my father and only realised that I was left alone with Hermione in the ward. "Do you mind if I left you for some time to confirm my theory? I'd be back right away." I said, promising that I wouldn't neglect her for a long time. She seemed reluctant to let me go, it made me happy because now I knew that at some level she needed me. "I'll know if you needed me." I smiled at her in reassurance while started to stand up to search for my father.

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><p><strong>AN** : It felt nice to finally post this chapter... See you soon on my next one...


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